Taboo businesses that craft jewellery from human placenta or sell leak-proof underwear are turning to Facebook and Instagram to find their customers.

Marketing a business that makes jewellery out of human placenta, breast milk, baby’s cord clamp, or even baby’s ashes in the event of a loss, is no mean feat.

Baby Bee Hummingbirds founder Amy McGlade has grappled with the challenge of writing marketing copy for her business, which takes dehydrated human placenta ground into powder and sprinkles it into an unset resin bead.

“We don’t want to gross people out who don’t feel our products are right for them, so marketing has been a challenge," McGlade says.

But with business booming and more potential out there, McGlade has had to think outside the square, recently hiring a marketing coach to hone the message.

Her business is also being fuelled by the growing number of women expressing an interest in their placenta after birth. Some even take them home from hospital and have them encapsulated for post-birth consumption, as the placenta is rich in iron and is believed to assist with post-partum blues.

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McGlade fields hundreds of enquiries from both women and men looking for a unique gift idea every week, hiring an administration assistant to help field the constant flow of emails and two jewellery crafters who work alongside her. Aside from social media, she’s gearing up to be a stallholder at national baby and pregnancy expos.

“Social media has worked really well," McGlade says. “Our Facebook page has fuelled word of mouth, which has resulted in massive growth. The business has grown 900 per cent in the last year. We’ve had breast milk sent from as far away as Singapore to be made into jewellery."

Instagram has been the marketing method of choice for Melanie Fogarty, who has a similar offering. Trading under the name Beyond The Willow Tree, she now has nearly 7,000 followers. The business, only trading for nearly three years, is tiny, with a turnover of about $130,000 and three part-time employees. Fogarty is also working on a method to transform breast milk into lace, to be then made into hard jewellery.

“I’m contemplating setting it up so I can trade worldwide, because the demand is there, and social media has enabled me to spread the word," Fogarty says. “It might not be for everyone, but the ones that are interested in our products will find us on social media."

Candour goes a long way

Pad and tampon subscription service Love Lois doesn’t beat around the bush in its social media ads.

The Melbourne based business has grown a loyal following on Instagram and Facebook with carefully planned ads and posts since launching two years ago.

“We use the word ‘period’ and ‘pad and tampons’ in our ads and source interesting content for our Facebook page, and it works tremendously well," founder Vivienne Poznanski says.

Kristy Chong gave print advertising a try when she launched her new product ModiBodi at the end of 2013, but it wasn’t helping her gain any traction. “We just couldn’t get our message across in print."

She’s had far better success with social media, particularly Facebook, for her leak-proof range of moisture wicking, absorbent, breathable and stain resistant underwear range. She’s also dabbling in Instagram, and some outsourced PR efforts have served her well.

“We opt for the feel-good factor that gives women a sense of confidence in our marketing, as opposed to talking about the problem," Chong says. “It’s worked well for us, and we’ve seen a 400 per cent growth in revenue this month."

The buying power of women

These sorts of taboo products that would fail to gain traction in traditional media rely on our willingness to share social media posts that have an ‘ick factor’ with our friends, which is proving to be a valuable marketing tool.

Products that capture women’s imaginations will continue to succeed as clever entrepreneurs capture the hearts and open the wallets of female consumers, who are the fastest growing consumer economy in the world, says Bec Brideson, chief executive of marketing agency Venus, which specialises in marketing to women.

Brideson adds there are specific tools that work best when marketing taboo products, such as involving early adopters in think-tanks, and careful channel-planning to build a groundswell of interest.

“In a fragmented media market, it’s now easier than ever to talk one-on-one with consumers who might be interested in such topics," she says.

Danger of retargeting software

Sometimes, marketing of taboo products pops up in the wrong place at the wrong time. This was the case when a UK cancer patient searched for support for his disease, only to be confronted by advertisements for funeral directors appearing regularly in his Facebook feed.

While any marketing inherently comes with a similar risk, the firm that set the retargeting metrics would have selected criteria to ‘push’ the advertisements in Kapps’ direction, explains Melbourne’s Thinktank Social general manager David Thomas.

Retargeting can be a powerful tool for marketing taboo products, but you can’t always predict how an ad is going to be received. Thinktank regularly deploys retargeting via Facebook and other media for its clients.

“Retargeting tracks user movements throughout the web and uses this data to deliver content based on what they’re looking at," Thomas says. “Algorithms can only work to a logical framework, and it’s up to the advertiser to understand the inherent risks associated with any marketing initiative, making sure as many potential issues are covered as much as possible.

The exact same issue occurred for one of Thinktank Social’s clients, Tobin Brothers Funerals. “Even though we were using this method but creating a message that celebrated life, it still wasn’t well received by some of our audience, and some really attacked the ad," Thomas says. “You’ve got to be sensitive about the message and consider who might be receiving it, and always come back to the objectives of the brand."